Prenatal to Third Grade Partnerships

We know that to ensure a strong start, children need consistent quality across the systems and services they and their families experience during the first years of life. P-3 approaches build comprehensive systems to align the public and private programs that serve young children and their families, including education, health, and social- services.

Goals of P-3

• Reduce child and family trauma
• Improve resiliency
• Improve family health, nutrition, and stability
• Improve school readiness
• Improve 3rd grade academic and social-emotional proficiency

Components Include:

• Partnerships between schools, families, and communities
• Community-wide family engagement approaches
• Strong collaborations between early learning providers, community organizations, and school districts
• High quality early learning programs and equity across ages, ability, language spoken, and zip codes
• Effective transitions to provide a seamless continuum of learning for children from birth to age 8
• Getting families and children connected to services early

P-3 in Action

• Developmentally-appropriate, standards-aligned teaching and learning Pre-K through 3rd grade
• Home visiting systems
• Library programs
• Parenting programs
• Play and learn groups for families
• Health and social service wraparound supports
• Strong transition practices between programs
• Early Head Start and Head Start
• High quality programming and early learning opportunities for infants, toddler, and preschoolers
• Family childcare and preschool quality improvement

For more information about P-3 Partnerships in Lancaster County, contact Amanda Burns at aburns@caplanc.org.

About the Community Action Partnership (CAP) of Lancaster County

The Community Action Partnership is Lancaster County’s largest anti-poverty organization, helping low-income families move toward self-sufficiency. CAP’s service profile interrupts inter-generational poverty with programs that support families and individuals at every age and place in life, in the areas of education and child development, health and nutrition, household stability and safety and empowerment. For more information, visit www.caplanc.org.